Method and apparatus for cutting nonuniform articles into uniform pieces

ABSTRACT

Nonuniform articles, such as potatoes, are cut into uniform pieces by subjecting the articles to a centrifugal force for orienting each article along its longitudinal axis, transferring tangentially each oriented article to a conveyor defining a conveying path for forming a single row of articles moving in a conveying direction and oriented with their longitudinal axes parallel to the conveying path, feeding the single row of articles past a plurality of measuring stations, measuring a longitudinal length for each article passing a measuring station, removing from the conveyor each article having a longitudinal length greater than a length predetermined for the respective measuring station, and cutting each article into uniform pieces. Apparatus for performing the method has a cylindrical wall defining an opening for the transfer of the articles to the conveyor and a cone-shaped disc mounted for rotation and arranged within the cylindrical wall for supplying the centrifugal force. A plurality of sensing devices is used to measure the length of the passing articles, and a plurality of associated plungers is provided to remove the articles from the conveyor and move the articles into a cutting assembly. The sensing devices are arranged in the conveying direction to remove articles having progressively shorter longitudinal lengths.

United States Patent 1191 Lacey [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 3,195,596 7/1965 P61618611 99/514 3,603,457 9/1971 FlOdln 99/489x 3,468,098 9/1969 Eiserlberg.. 53/123 3,662,518 5/1972 E18611b61 53/123R26,796 2 1970 131111111 99/233.12 1,337,968 4/1920 SChrOEdCL. 99 550 x3,090,414 5/1963 Briggs 99/550 x 3,643,721 2/1972 Haubner. 99 233.12 x3,233,484 2/1966 Davis.; 83/364 x 3,466,958 9/1969 M1111S1111.....83/364 x 7 3,666,079 5 1972 74116615611 99/550 x FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 185,993 10/1966 U.S.S.R 83/364 METHOD AND APPARATUS FORCUTTING NONUNIFORM ARTICLES INTO UNIFORM PIECES Inventor: Edward H.Lacey, Rural Rt., Trent,

S. Dak. 57065 Filed: Oct. 19, 1971 Appl. No.: 190,572

US. Cl 99/514, 83/364,99/489, 99/550 Int. Cl. A23n 15/00, A47j 44/00,826d 4/06, B26d 5/34 Field of Search 99/514, 549, 550, 233.12,

[ Mar, E2, 1974 Primary ExaminerWayne A. Morse, Jr. Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Clarence A. OBrien; Harvey B. Jacobson Nonuniform articles, such aspotatoes, are cut into uniform pieces by subjecting the articles to acentrifugal force for orienting each article along its longitudinalaxis, transferring tangentially each oriented article to a conveyordefining a conveying path for forming a single row of articles moving ina conveying direction and oriented with their longitudinal axes parallelto the conveying path, feeding the single row of articles past aplurality of measuring stations, measuring a longitudinal length foreach article passing a measuring station, removing from the conveyoreach article having a longitudinal length greater than a lengthpredetermined for the respective measuring station, and cutting eacharticle into uniform pieces. Apparatus for performing the method has acylindrical wall defining an opening for the transfer of the articles tothe conveyor and a cone-shaped disc mounted for rotation and arrangedwithin the cylindrical wall for supplying the centrifugal force.Aplurality of sensing devices is ABSTRACT used to measure the length ofthe passing articles, and

a plurality of associated plungers is provided to remove the articlesfrom the conveyor and move the articles into a cutting assembly. Thesensing devices are arranged in the conveying direction to removearticles having progressively shorter longitudinal lengths.

' 13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures WENTEDIMR 2 19M 3J96Q146 SHEEY l H? 5Edward H. Lacey [X I 'IjNTOK.

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PATENTEDHAR i 2 1914 3J9B146 sum 5 0f 5 a0 EN 84 A 52 Edward H. LaceyMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CUTTING NONUNIFORM ARTICLES INTO UNIFORM PIECESBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a methodand apparatus for cutting nonuniform articles, such as potatoes, intouniform pieces by arranging the articles on a con veyor in a single rowand in a predetermined orientation by first subjecting the articles to acentrifugal force for orienting each article along its longtudinal axisand then transferring tangentially each oriented article to a conveyor,and feeding the single row of articles past a plurality of measuringstations, measuring a longitudinal length for each article passingthereby, removing from the conveyor each article having a longitudinallength greater than a length predetermined for the respective measuringstation, and cutting each article into uniform pieces.

In the past, great difficulties have been encountered in cutting, forexample, seed potatoes into uniform seed pieces. This has been aparticular problem when cutting potatoes of the long variety, such asthe Russett- Burbank potato. The long variety of potatoes do notmechanically sort particularly well due to the lack of uniformity ofshape. A potato, for example, two inches long could have the samecross-sectional area as a potato, for example, four inches long, or evenlonger. The cross-sectional area could also have a roundor a flat ovalconfiguration. Due to this irregular shape, the great majority of thelong variety of potatoes is still cut by hand, or is placed by hand on agrid of knives and is forced through the grid with a plunger so as to becut into seed pieces. It has been a particular problem to have theproper length potato placed into the knives so that, for example, afour-piece seed potato would be cut into four pieces of the same size.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention toprovide a method and apparatus for cutting nonuniform articles, such aspotatoes, into uniform pieces.

This and other objects are realized according to the present inventionby arranging on a conveyor in a predetermined orientation non-uniformarticles each defining a longitudinal axis, and sorting the nonuniformarticles by differences in the longitudinal length thereof.

The method according to the present invention is carried out by thebasic steps of orienting nonuniform articles along their longitudinalaxes, feeding a single row of articles oriented with their longitudinalaxes parallel to a conveying direction past a plurality of measuringstations, measuring a longitudinal length for each article passing anymeasuring station, removing from the conveyor each article having alongitudinal length greater than a length predetermined for therespective measuring station, and cutting each article into uniformpieces by feeding same into a cutting device associated with therespective measuring station at which the article is removed.

The setp of orienting includes the steps of subjecting nonuniformarticles to a centrifugal force for orienting each article, andtransferring tangentially each oriented article to a conveyor defining aconveying path for forming a single row of articles moving in aconveying direction and oriented with their longitudinal axes parallelto the conveying path.

The step of subjecting includes the step of forcing the articles againsta curved surface, and the step of measuring includes the step ofarranging the measuring stations in the conveying direction to removearticles having progressively shorter longitudinal lengths.

The method of sorting articles according to the present inventionincludes the step of feeding the articles to be cut into uniform piecesinto a cutting device associated with the respective measuring stationat which the article is removed.

A preferred embodiment of the apparatus for carrying out the methodaccording to the present invention has means for orienting each of aplurality of nonuniform articles along its longitudinal axis andincludes means for subjecting each article to a centrifugal force,conveyor means for receiving each oriented article transferredtangentially from the means for subjecting and defining a conveying pathfor forming a single row of articles oriented with their longitudinalaxes parallel to the conveying path, means for measuring a longitudinallength for'each article passing by any of a plurality of measuringstations included in said means for measuring and arranged along theconveying path, means associated with said means for measuring forremoving from the conveying path each article having a longitudinallength greater than a length predetermined for the respective measuringstation, and means arranged to receive each removed article for cuttingeach article into uniform pieces.

A preferred embodiment of the arranging apparatus for subjecting thearticles to a centrigual force has a cylindrical wall defining anopening for the transfer of the articles to conveyor means, and acone-shaped disc 1 mounted for rotation and arranged within thecylindrical wall for supplying the centrifugal force. Means such as atleast one roller is arranged in the cylindrical wall for preventing thearticles from catching the cylindrical wall and tumbling as theyapproach the opening. The conveyor means has a pair of parallel, spacedapart, endless belts.

The measuring stations of the sorting apparatus are arranged in theconveying direction to remove articles having progressively shorterlongitudinal lengths.

The means for removing of the sorting apparatus has a plurality ofplungers, and said means for measuring has a plurality of sensingdevices arranged to be blocked by passing articles and operablyconnected to the plungers to actuate the same when the sensing devicesare blocked for a predetermined time. The plungers have resilientcontact pads providing padded contact surfaces, and are mounted to belowerable and tiltable.

The means for cutting may be, for example, a potato seed cutter, and thenonuniform articles may be, for example, potatoes to be cut into uniformseed pieces.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a vertical longitudinal viewshowing a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan longitudinal view of the embodiment shown in FIG.1.

*FIG. 3 is a vertical end view of the embodiment shown in FIGS. l and 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial, vertical longitudinal view on an enlarged scaleshowing a detail of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIG. 5 is a sectional detail view taken generally along the line 5-5 ofFIG. 4.

- FIG. 6 is a sectional detail view on an enlarged scale taken generallyalong the line 66 of FIG. 2.

- FIG. 7 is a sectional detail view similar to FIG. 6, but showing theapparatus in a different stage of operation.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a potato cut into eight pieces.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. I of the drawings shows apreferred embodiment of the present invention which is particularlyintended to cut, for example, potatoes into seed pieces.

A frame 10, which may be constructed in a known manner from, forexample, steel angles, is provided for mounting the other elements.

A member 12 extends from frame and supports a suitable, known motor 14,such as an electric motor, having a suitable, known right-angle gear box16. Motor'l4 and gear box 16 may be mounted to member 12 in a suitable,known manner, such as being, for example, bolted thereto at flanges 18and 20. A shaft 22 is rotatably connected to gear box 16 for rotationthereby. A cone-shaped disc 24 is attached to the lower end of shaft 22for rotation therewith. The cone surface of disc 24 slopes downwardly inthe outward direction, as can be seen from FIG. 1. A cylindrical wall 26defining an opening 28 and having tangential guide portions 30 and 32 isarranged about disc 24 (see FIG. 2). Wall 26 may be mounted to frame 10by means of portions 30,32 as by, for example, welding or screwfasteners. In addition, member 12 may be extended further out to provideadditional support for wall 26. A plurality of rollers 27 is mounted forrotation in the upper-right quadrant of wall 26 as seen in FIG. 2.Rollers 27 are mounted on respective shafts 29 which are in turnattached in a known manner to the outer surface of wall 26, with aportion of each roller 27 extending through a respective opening 31defined in wall 26. The purpose of rollers 27 will be discussed below.

In addition to the level orientation of disc 24 shown in FIG. 1, shaft22, and, hence disc 24, may be made tiltable. This may be accomplishedby, for example, mounting motor 14 and gear box 16 to a member 12 bymeans of slotted brackets (not shown) and bolts and wing nuts (notshown). Alternatively, member 12 could be mounted to frame 10 in a knownmanner for rotation about its longitudinal axis. The advantages ofatiltable disc 24 includes more effective action on the potatoes andfacilitates the use of an automatic feeding device.

It is to be understood that some other device for orienting the articlesfed to the sorting device may be used in place of disc 24 such as, forexample, an automatic feeding system (not shown). A pair of spacedapart, endless conveyor belts 34 are tracked over a respective set ofpairs of idler pulleys 36, 38, and 40, and drive pulleys 42 to form aconveyor 35 (FIG. 3). The pulleys 36, 38, 40 and 42 may be V-pulleys andbelts 34 may be V-belts, as is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. Pulleys 42 areconnected to a drive sprocket 44 via a drive shaft 46. Sprocket 44 isconnected to a suitable, known motor 48, which may be an electric motor,via a drive train 50. Drive train 50 and drive shaft 46 are mounted toframe 10 in a conventional manner. Motor 48 and shaft 52 of drive train50 are mounted on a platform 54, which platform 54 is in turn mounted toframe 10 in a known manner. Sprocket chains 56 and 58, and sprockets 60,61, and 62 are any suitable known types.

The sorting apparatus has a plurality of measuring stations 64 (FIG. 5)arranged along the path of conveyor 35. As can be seen in FIG. 3, eachstation 64 has a sensing device 66 mountedon a bar 67 fastened to frame10. In the illustrated embodiment, sensing device 66 is a radiationreceptor, such as a photoelectric cell which receives radiation from aradiation source 68. Source 68 may be, for example, a lamp. If thearticles being sorted have high reflectivity, source 68 could bepositioned adjacent sensing device 66 (not shown). A control unit 70mounted on frame 10 is connected to each sensing device 66 via aplurality of couplings 72, which may be an electrical coupling. Unit 70may be a plurality of adjustable timing devices of a known type such asan electrical or mechanical timer. The timing device for a particularsensing device 66 is actuated by the lack of a signal from that sensingdevice 66. The timing devices of control unit 70 are operably connectedin a known manner to an associated removing device 74. Removing device74 has a plunger 76. A resilient contact pad 78 is attached to the outerend of plunger 76 to provide a padded contact surface. Pad 78 may beconstructed from, for example, a suitable synthetic material, such as afoamed thermoplastic. Removing device 74 may be, for example, a suitableknown electrical solenoid.

Removing devices 74 are mounted on a member 80 offrame 10 by anassociated bracket 82 (FIGS. 6 and 7). Bracket 82 defines a plurality ofholes 84 through which a suitable, known clamping device, such as a boltand wing nut, is passed. Thus, each device 74 is tiltable about an axisparallel to the conveying path. Further, each device 74 may be adjustedperpendicular to the plane of conveyor 35 by using an appropriate hole84.

Sensing devices 66 are positioned upstream from the associated removingdevice 74 with respect to the conveying direction. The conveyingdirection is shown by the arrows in FIGS. 1 and 5.

It is to be understood that sensing and removing devices other thanthose referred to above may be utilized within the scope of the presentinvention. For example, fluid driven piston and cylinder units may besubstituted for the solenoid and plunger units 64. Further, otherradiation than light'may be used with sensing devices 66. Even knownmechanical sensing units using feelers could be substituted.

A cutting device 88 has a pair of rolls 50, 92 driven by a motor 94(FIG. 2), which again may be an electric motor, via a drive train 96(FIG. 3). Drive train 96 has a belt 98 connecting a motor pulley 100with a pulley 102 mounted on a shaft 104. -A sprocket 106 is alsomounted on shaft 104, and rotates a sprocket 108 via a sprocket chain110. Sprocket 108 is mounted on a shaft 112 for rotation therewith alongwith another sprocket (not shown) which engages a sprocket chain 114.Chain 114 rotates rolls 90, 92 via sprockets 116 and 118 mounted on rollshafts 120 and 122, respectively, for rotation therewith, and an idlesprocket 124 mounted on a shaft 126 for rotation therewith.

' Rolls 90, 92 are made up of a series of resilient discs 128 (FIG. 4).Disc 128 is varied in thickness in order to best grip the particularsize of article being removed from the con-veying path at the measuringstation 64 related to that portion of the roll 90 or 92. l-Iollow discs128 are mounted on a respective hollow drum 129 which is in turn mountedon its respective shaft 120 and 122. A plurality of cutting discs 130are placed between selected disc 128, and a cutting bar 132 is arrangedparallel to the conveying path and is directed toward the space 134between rolls 90, 92. As can be seen in FIG. 3, bar 132 may be mountedon frame by means of, for example, brackets 136, only one of which canbe seen. A plurality of stripper fingers 138 are mounted on frame 10,and are arranged to press against drum l29 in those portions of rolls90, 92 not provided with disc 128. Spacers 139 may be provided tomaintain the proper distance between cutting discs 130.

In operation, disc 24 rotates in the counterclockwise, or arrowdirection as seen inFIG. 2. Nonuniform articles defining longitudinalaxes, such as potatoes, are placed on disc 24 at random in any knownmanner, such as by dumping from a container, and are subjected to acentrifugal force which causes the articles to abut against the curvedsurface of cylindrical wall 26. Because of the well known effects ofcentrifugal force on objects having a longitudinal dimension, thelongitudinal axes of the articles will become tangent to wall 126.Rollers 27 prevent the articles from catching wall 126 and tumbling as aresult. When the articles reach opening 28, they are transferredtangentially onto conveyor 35 with the aid of guide portions 30, 32. Asingle row of the nonuniform articles is thus formed. The articles willbe cradled by belts 34, and oriented with their longitudinal axesparallel to the conveying path.

The single row of articles can now be fed by conveyor 35 past theplurality of measuring stations 64 whereat the longitudinal length foreach article arriving at a measuring station 54 is measured. The passageof each article will block out the respective sensing device 66 fromsource 68. If sensing device 66 is blocked for a period of time greaterthan a predetermined time set in the associated control unit'70, theremoving device 74 for the respective measuring station will beactuated, and the article will be removed from conveyor 35. In thismanner, the articles are sorted by their longitudinal length. Thecontrol units 70 are set in the conveying direction to remove articleshaving progressively shorter longitudinal lengths, as is shown in FIG. 4where the arrow at the right-hand side indicates the conveyingdirection. Y

Removing devices 74 are preferably adjusted perpendicular to the planeof conveyor 35 to be progressively closer to the level of the plane ofconveyor 35 in the conveying direction, so that the articles may becontacted by the plungers 76 at substantially their center of gravity.

The sorted articles are now ready for cutting into uniform pieces. FIG.4 shows four potatoes, 140, 142, 144 and 146 in position between rolls90, 92. When removing device 74 is actuated, plunger 76 moves to theleftin FIG. 6 and pushes an article, such as potato 148, between rolls 90,92. Pad 78 actually comes into Contact with the article, which resultsin the article retaining its orientation by keeping it in alignment. Theresilient disc I28 catches the article and holds it in the properorientation. I

The article now proceeds through the cutting device 88 at a pointassociatedwith the respective measuring station at which the article isremoved from conveyor 35 and is cut into substantially uniform pieces.FIG. 7 shows potato 148 passing through bar 132. Plunger 76 retracts ina known manner, as, for example, by a signal generated or discontinuedby control unit 70. The signal could be the result of sensing device 66receiving radiation again that is, being unblocked or unit could havepulseddevice 74 in such a manner that device 74 only is actuated for apredetermined time.

Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the larger articles do notrequire as many disc 128 for retention as do the smaller articles suchas 146. Further, the larger articles such as are cut into more piecesthan the smaller articles. This results in a substantially uniform sizefor all the cut pieces.

FIG. 8 shows a potato 150, which could be potato 148, that has been cutinto eight pieces.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. Apparatus for uniformly cutting nonuniform articles defininglongitudinal axes, comprising, in combination:

a. means for orienting each of a plurality of nonuniform articles alongits longitudinal axis;

b. conveyor means for receiving each oriented article, and defining aconveying path for forming a single row of articles oriented with theirlongitudinal axes parallel to the conveying path;

0. means for measuring a longitudinal length for each article passing byany of a plurality of measuring stations included in said means formeasuring and arranged along the conveying path;

d. means associated with said means for measuring for removing from theconveying path each article having a longitudinal length greater than alength predetermined for the respective measuring station; and

e. means arranged at each said measuring stations for receiving andcutting each removed article into pieces substantially uniform in size,the means for receiving and cutting including a pair of rolls, each rollprovided with a hollow drum, a series of resilient discs of variedthickness arranged for gripping a particular size of article removedfrom the conveying path at the related measuring station, and aplurality of cutting discs placed between selected resilient discs, andtogether with the pair of rolls a cutting bar arranged parallel to theconveying path and directed toward a space between the rolls.

2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the means for orientingincludes means for subjecting each article to a centrifugal force, andthe conveyor means receives articles transferred tangentially theretofrom said means for subjecting.

3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said means forsubjecting has a cylindrical wall defining an opening for the transferof the articles to said conveyor means, and a cone-shaped disc mountedfor rotation and arranged within the cylindrical wall for supplying thecentrifugal force.

4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said means forsubjecting further has means arranged in said cylindrical wall forpreventing the articles from catching said cylindrical wall and tumblingas they approach said opening.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the means for preventingis at least one roller.

6. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said conveyor means hasa pair of parallel, spaced apart,

9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein said plungers haveresilient contact pads providing padded contact surfaces, and aremounted to be vertically adjustable and tiltable.

10. The apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for cuttingis a potato seed cutter, and the nonuniform articles are potatoes to becut into uniform seed pieces.

11. The apparatus as defined in claim 5., wherein said conveyor meanshas a pair of parallel, spaced apart, endless conveyor belts, and saidmeasuring stations are arranged in the conveying direction to removearticles having progressively shorter longitudinal axis lengths.

12. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 1, wherein the means forremoving has a plurality of plungers, and said means for measuring has aplurality of sensing devices arranged to beblocked by passing articlesand operably connected to said plungers to actuate the same when saidsensing devices are blocked for a predetermined time, and said plungershave resilient contact pads providing padded contact surfaces, and aremounted to be vertically adjustable and tiltable.

13. The apparatus as defined in claim 12, wherein said means for cuttingis a potato seed cutter, and the nonuniform articles are potatoes to becut into uniform

1. Apparatus for uniformly cutting nonuniform articles defininglongitudinal axes, comprising, in combination: a. means for orientingeach of a plurality of nonuniform articles along its longitudinal axis;b. conveyor means for receiving each oriented article, and defining aconveying path for forming a single row of articles oriented with theirlongitudinal axes parallel to the conveying path; c. means for measuringa longitudinal length for each article passing by any of a plurality ofmeasuring stations included in said means for measuring and arrangedalong the conveying path; d. means associated with said means formeasuring for removing from the conveying path each article having alongitudinal length greater than a length predetermined for therespective measuring station; and e. means arranged at each saidmeasuring stations for receiving and cutting each removed article intopieces substantially uniform in size, the means for receiving andcutting including a pair of rolls, each roll provided with a hollowdrum, a series of resilient discs of varied thickness arranged forgripping a particular size of article removed from the conveying path atthe related measuring station, and a plurality of cutting discs placedbetween selected resilient discs, and together with the pair of rolls acutting bar arranged parallel to the conveying path and directed towarda space between the rolls.
 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein the means for orienting includes means for subjecting eacharticle to a centrifugal force, and the conveyor means receives articlestransferred tangentially thereto from said means for subjecting.
 3. Theapparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said means for subjecting has acylindrical wall defining an opening for the transfer of the articles tosaid conveyor means, and a cone-shaped disc mounted for rotation andarranged within the cylindrical wall for supplying the centrifugalforce.
 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein said means forsubjecting further has means arranged in said cylindrical wall forpreventing the articles from catching said cylindrical wall and tumblingas they approach said opening.
 5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4,wherein the means for preventing is at least one roller.
 6. Theapparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said conveyor means has a pairof parallel, spaced apart, endless conveyor belts.
 7. The apparatus asdefined in claim 1, wherein said measuring stations are arranged in theconveying direction to remove articles having progressively shorterlongitudinal axis lengths.
 8. The apparatus as defined in claim 1,wherein the means for removing has a plurality of plungers, and saidmeans for measuring has a plurality of sensing devices arranged to beblocked by passing articles and operably connected to said plungers toactuate the same when said sensing devices are blocked for apredetermined time.
 9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein saidplungers have resilient contact pads providing padded contact surfaces,and are mounted to be vertically adjustable and tiltable.
 10. Theapparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for cutting is apotato seed cutter, and the nonuniform artIcles are potatoes to be cutinto uniform seed pieces.
 11. The apparatus as defined in claim 5,wherein said conveyor means has a pair of parallel, spaced apart,endless conveyor belts, and said measuring stations are arranged in theconveying direction to remove articles having progressively shorterlongitudinal axis lengths.
 12. The apparatus as defined in claim 11,wherein the means for removing has a plurality of plungers, and saidmeans for measuring has a plurality of sensing devices arranged to beblocked by passing articles and operably connected to said plungers toactuate the same when said sensing devices are blocked for apredetermined time, and said plungers have resilient contact padsproviding padded contact surfaces, and are mounted to be verticallyadjustable and tiltable.
 13. The apparatus as defined in claim 12,wherein said means for cutting is a potato seed cutter, and thenonuniform articles are potatoes to be cut into uniform seed pieces.